Ever since the world changed on September 11, many people in the west have turned their fear of terrorism into xenophobia towards all Muslims, although the vast majority of the religion is far from being fanatic - and it seems like, almost 14 years after Manhattan's World Trade Center was attacked in 2001, there's still United Airlines discrimination.
The latest xenophobia scandal involves a woman fully dressed in Islamic traditional hijab, who claims she was subject to United Airlines discrimination when flying with the big company last weekend, as she was apparently denied a Diet Coke by a flight attendant.
According to First Look, the United Airlines discrimination claims come from Tahera Ahmad, a Northwestern University chaplain, who claims it's hardly the first time she has been discriminated against simply for being Muslim and choosing to wear a hijab in the country.
The United Airlines discrimination reportedly occurred as Ahmad was flying from Chicago to Washington last Friday, as she was scheduled to appear in a conference promoting dialogue between young people in Palestine and Israel; as she was flying, she requested an unopened can of soda (a Diet Coke), but the flight attendant refused to serve her, claiming Ahmad could "use it as a weapon" to tear down the plane.
CNN reports that a spokesperson for the airline, Charles Hobart, said the company had spoken to Ahmad to understand the United Airlines discrimination situation better, claiming the flight attendant in question had attempted to accommodate the chaplain's beverage request but there was ultimately a "misunderstanding," though its nature wasn't specified.
According to Slate, the recent event has prompted a call to boycott the airline, as users have taken to social media to say they'll stop flying United over the problem, under the hashtag #UnitedForTahera.
Since the United Airlines discrimination, Ahmad has claimed she hasn't received an actual apology from the airline.
